Electric-circuit closer



(No Model.)

0. J. VAN DEPOELE.

ELECTRIC CIRCUIT CLOSER.

No. 291,648. Patented Jan. 8, 1884.

Fa 7C,

UNITED STATES PATENT CHARLES J. van nnronnn, or carcxoo, 1m. xois.

ELECTRiC-OIRCUlT CLOSER SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 291,648, dated January 8, 1884.

Application filed April 19, 1883. No modrl.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, OrLiRLns J. Van Dn- POELE, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvement sin Automatic Circuit-Closers or SafetySwitches, (by expansion or fusion of a wire;) and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being bad to the accompanyin drawings, which form a part of this specification.

my invention relates to a new and useful improvement in circuit-closers for electric lamps; and it consists in an automatic arrangement which completes the electrical circuit in a series of lamps whenever it becomes necessary to do so.

The following is a specification and description of the device, reference being had to the annexed drawings, forming part of this specification.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of an electric lamp. A is an electr c-magnet of high resistance, located in a derivation between the earbons, and operating to oppose the separation of the carbons and to call the carbon-feeding mechanism into action, and also operating in case of any abnormal conditions of the circuit, whereby the attractive force of the shuntmagnet A is increased to attract the armature Pt, and thus establish the connection between the points 8 and 8. B is an electro-magnet in the main circuit. C is an iron wire. 0 is a hook insulated from the frame of lamp. D is a weighted bell-crank lever, having a contact piece, W, and it is pivoted or hinged at O and insulated from frame of lamp, but in electrical connection with the negative post of lamp at F; P, positive pole; N, negative post of lamp. All insulations are shown in black. S is a contact between R and Ci Fig. 2 is also a front elevation of an electric lamp, and similar to Fig. 1, except in the parts constituting the circuitcloser. E is a contact insulated from frame of lamp, but in electrical contact with negative binding-post of lamp at F by suitable conductor. D is a detent in connection with frame, and thus with positive pole P. O is a bell-crank lever pivoted at O. O is a standard fixed to top plate of lamp and carrying the bell-crank C. G is an expansi' ble wire. C is a contact-piece insulated from frame to which the wire 0 is attached. \V is a copper wire connecting C to E. X is astud of insulating material, to which the wires C and W are attached, so as to insulate the same from frame. S is a contact-piece attached to the armature R; R, armature of electro-magnets A and B. E is a screw and spring intended to draw the bellcrank C upward.

The circuits are as follows: The current enters at P, passes over by frame to top carbon rod and carbon at 2, to negative carbon, by suitable conductor to 3, to insulated screw at 4, to coil of B, in at 5, out at 6, to '7, and from here to S by screw F, which is in contact with N, thus completing the circuit through the carbons and working parts of the lamp. The circuit through circuit-closer is as follows: The current enters at P, passes over to O by means of contact-point S, which is in metallic contact through R with all positive parts of lamp. From 0" the current passes over to O, to XV or XV, to E, which is in connection with negative pole of lamp at F, thus completing the circuit. On establishing the circuit with the poles N and P, and supposing that the carbons are in contact, the armature will be attracted toward the center of the core of B, thus breaking contact between S and G" at S, so that no current is passing through the circuit-closing device, the whole current passing through the carbons and working parts of lamp; but ifby some cause or other the working circuit in a particular lamp becomes broken, the armature 1%, being no longer attracted by the main electroanagnet B, will return to its normal position, which is that shown in the drawings. and byso doing again make contact between S and 0. allowing the current to pass through 0 and \Y to E and negative pole at F, and by so doing will allow a pivoted arm, D, (which is in direct electrical contact with one of the poles of the lamp,) to make contact with an extension from the opposite pole, and thus close a short circuit through the lamps of ample capacity to carry the entire current.

I have shown two forms of construct-ion for the sake of illustration, the preferred arrangement being that of Fig. 2, by reference to which it will be seen that, the piece'D be ing in connection with the positive bindingpost through the frame of the lamp, the cur- I rent, on passing through C, will expand said wire by heating the same, spring S will draw the bell-crank O upward, thus releasing the detent D upon E, and completing the circuit through the circuit-closer until the carbons in said lamp have been made to feed and the bell-crauk O and detcnt D are again brought back to their original positions, as indicated in the drawings, thus breaking contact with E. and allowing the current to pass through the carbons and working parts of lamp.

In Fig. l the wire 0 is intended to be destroyed on the passage of the current, thus establishing contact between XV and E by the dropping ot' lV upon E.

In Fig. 2 the wire 0 is simply expected to expand, and thus to release the detent D; but should the expansion not be suflieient to release the detent the wire 0 will be destroyed, and the detent is then sure to be released.

\Vhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

tween its armature and the circuit-closing de vice, whereby the increased attraction of the shunt-magnet caused by abnormal conditions of the are will operate to complete the main circuit through the said circuit-closer, substantially as described.

CHARLES J. VAN DEPOELE. Vitnesses:

Norman? T. G-i-xssnTn-i, Tnno. P. BAILEY. 

